2009 Goodguys Car Show - Pilgrimage

We Head East To Check Out Goodguys' Biggest Event Of The Year.

For Muslims it's Mecca, and for Catholics it would be the Vatican, but for devout gearheads the yearly pilgrimage would have to be the Goodguys mega event in Columbus, Ohio. Each year thousands of hot rodders embark on the journey to the Ohio Expo Center for what is arguably one of the biggest shows in hot rodding, and 2009 was no exception. For one reason, it's the event where Goodguys crowns the Street Rod and Street Machine of the Year. Another reason is that it's where they give away a badass ride (this year was a Nova built by Precision Coachworks) to one lucky Goodguys member. For these, and many other factors, this has become a show that should be on every car enthusiast's bucket list.

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Did we mention this show is big? The good part is that it gives visitors a chance to check out nearly 6,500 very cool rides. The bad part is that space is at a premium so the autocross is only ran on Friday. This lets the Goodguys staff convert the track over to an additional 200 parking spaces for the very busy weekend. Oh well, we would certainly rather have one day of cone madness than none.

Our '68 Camaro happened to be in the area, so we drove it over from nerby Dayton, Ohio, for a little fun. Since the auto-x is ran just one day, only two groups could participate: Vendors' cars, and cars competing for the Street Machine Of The Year (SMOTY) award. Over 30 rides competed this year for the SMOTY, and as is typically the case, a large chunk of them were Camaros. Last year they added the rule that in order to be eligible for the award, entrants were required to run the autocross. The times don't count towards getting in the top five, but points for style and effort are factored in. After all, it would be hard to give top honors to someone who babied their ride around the simple course.

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Saturday started out great, but that infamous Midwest weather kicked in and the event was deluged with rain for a few hours. Luckily none of the cars were actually made out of sugar (although some car owners act as if they are), and the precipitation eventually subsided. Last year, four of the top five cars were Camaros, but this year the final five was a bit more balanced, with a Ford, a Mopar, a Pontiac, and a couple Chevys in the mix. The top pick ended up being a completely off-the-hook '62 Corvette built by Roadster Shop.

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Next year when we make our pilgrimage back east for this event, we'll be pulling for a Camaro to take the top spot.

MORE PHOTOS

A real crowd pleaser was Roger Burman in his wicked '68 Camaro. Not content with just doing a 60-foot burnout, he also tossed in a smoky donut at no extra charge.

Heidts was on hand to flog their killer second-gen through the cones. Unlike other Goodguys autocross events, only vendors and contenders for Street Machine Of The Year (SMOTY) were allowed to run.

In an all too familiar occurrence, the folks over at Detroit Speed managed to win the vendor's challenge autocross. This time it was Kyle Tucker in his LS-powered '70.

Ridetech also brought out a few of their rides to the autocross, including our favorite one: the '68 called Velocity.

Danny Fuson, of Troy, Ohio, has been working on his '69 for the last six years, and like most of us, he upgrades it as time and funds allow. A carbon-fiber hood covers a 327 small-block, and the killer stance is courtesy of Ridetech. Danny doesn't plan on stopping there since he has a long list of mods planned for his Camaro.

This sweet '69 built by Alan Johnson for Nathan Powell of Birmingham, Alabama, was also competing for top honors. Alan must have done it right since the copper colored Camaro made it into the top five. Bob Johnson piloted the car to a best auto-x time of 39.149 seconds. Look for a full feature of this car in an upcoming issue of Camaro Performers.

This two-tone '69 really caught our eye, partly because it wasn't completely covered in black paint, but mostly because it was a killer looking Camaro. G and T McGilton kept the drivetrain simple with a rock-solid reliable 350 small-block and 700R4 transmission.

Built by RK Collection in Concord, North Carolina, Tom Farrell's '69 certainly had the workmanship to compete in the SMOTY competition. For power, the Camaro has an aluminum 582ci big-block backed up by a TKO-500 trans, and for suspension, Tom relies on an Art Morrison set up. His quickest time in the autocross was 34.895 seconds.

Not all the tasty Camaros were busy battling for the SMOTY award, some were just parked for all to enjoy. If Larry Wolyniec's 502-powered '69 looks familiar that's because it was featured in the October, 2008 issue of Camaro Performers.

Our '68 was over at Forgeline in Dayton, Ohio, getting some new rollers, so we decided to bring it out for some fun. Due to tire rules, we had to ditch our R-compound tires and mount up a set of sweet BFG KDWs. At first, the brand new tires were a little slick, but as the day went on, they got better and better.

While Saturday was filled with rain storms, Sunday's weather was perfect. This trifecta of blue Camaro goodness belongs to Detroit Speed and includes their newest addition: A '10 Aqua blue SS.

On Friday afternoon all the SMOTY contenders gathered at the autocross course to take their turns through the cones. No longer can cars just look pretty, now they actually have to do some moving. Each contender was required to make three passes to be eligible for the big trophy. The crowd wasn't hesitant to "boo" a car that was coddled around the track.

Bill Panouses decided to set his black '68 apart from the crowd by employing a healthy dose of carbon fiber panels from Anvil Auto and a few splashes of red paint. His ride, which goes by the name Evade, managed to weave through the cones in 36.081 seconds. Look for the full feature on page 78.

Douglas McDonald Senior's Camaro wasn't vying for SMOTY, but it was certainly nice enough to have done so. The LS7 powered '67 did manage to win the Trendsetter's Builders Choice award.

Built at Greening Auto Company in Cullman, Alabama, Jesse Greening's '71 was the only second-gen competing for the SMOTY this year. The nice thing about Jesse, is that he never hesitates to thrash this show car around an autocross or road course. His best time was a very respectable 33.004 seconds. See more of this car beginning on page 66.

Fesler made the long trek from Arizona to show off their extensive line of billet widgets. They also brought along their tricked-out '10 SS. The Camaro sports huge Baer brakes wrapped in equally massive 24-inch Fesler billet wheels. The LS3 under the hood has been treated to a power-boosting Magnuson supercharger.

With a supercharged LS engine under the hood, and a host of suspension upgrades, Harold Chapman's '69 certainly had a great combination for slicing through orange cones. Harold hails from Andice, Texas, and knocked down a best lap of 35.660 seconds.

In addition to 2009 being the year of the black car, it also seemed to favor drop tops. Jeff Kainz's '68 ran one of the top times of the event thanks to its DSE suspension and LS1 powerplant.

One of our favorite Camaros at the event was this '69 build by Detroit Speed for gearhead Jason Stanola. The car was super fresh, but wheelman Kyle Tucker still managed to whip it through the pylons in quick fashion with a best time of 32.448 seconds.

Sporting the biggest mill of the group, Paul Carlevale's '69 had an abundance of power. The 707ci engine is said to put out around 1,300 hp. That's one pony for every three pounds. Built by Carlevale Custom Cars, the aptly named Zeus, knocked down a best time of 38.103 seconds.

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